Not only has it been a weird week ...

....but it has been a long one.

I cannot believe it is only Thursday afternoon. Two more days before Laura makes it back home.

I think she will readily admit that she was very nervous in heading to China. Yes the travel was going to be long. Yes it was a very different environment for her than her past travels in Europe, Australia and Canada. But I think the biggest thing was she did not know what to expect from a work perspective. That combined with the other elements made the week leading up to the trip very stressful.

Arriving there late at night, after a delayed layover in Beijing did not help. With very little to eat that day she crawled into an uncomfortable bed - now two things that she valued were also missing - food and a comfortable bed. In the morning bad coffee did not help. I know that she was thinking "Get me out of this!". But then ..... her colleague Qin took her out for some lunch - and as nervous as she was about eating in China this was the eureka moment. The food was tasty and healthy. Dinner the same evening confirmed that lunch was not a fluke - again fresh, tasty and healthy. Adding to this was that Qin was able to take her sight seeing and she was able to find some stores that had some of the things that she was looking for - fresh fruit, familiar wine - the trip went from "Oh My God - get me out now" to "What an adventure!".

I am of course ecstatic that Laura found her rhythm in China and now she seems to be having fun - at least her pictures show that - check out the China Album.

I cannot wait for her to get home and I know she feels the same way about coming home but until she does I hope she enjoys her adventure.

This will be a weird week ...

This morning I dropped Laura off at the airport. I have never been the one dropping off - at least not sending someone off for work travel. In fact everytime Laura has travelled for work I have gone with her. Now however she is off to Shenzhen in China. I know she will do great there but it will be a long week.

Daddy-Daughter Day

So Laura has always encouraged me to spend time with the girls individually, and I have always liked this as well as they are all so different. Sam for example would rather do just about anything before going to an art gallery while Kris and Tika would be first in line at a Picasso exhibit. So when Kris asked if we could have a Daddy-Daughter day I was all set for it. So yesterday, myself, Kris and her friend Bree headed down to DC.

Kris has a favourite restaurant in DC and since Bree had never been there we headed over to Teaism. Teaism is a very neat place - good food, good tea and a very comfortable atmosphere. After lunch we headed up towards Connecticut Avenue to the National Zoo. We spent the next 3 hours at the Zoo - covering just about every open inch of it. I like the zoo. The open spaces and hundreds of trees just add to the atmosphere. A sunny day did not hurt either. I do not think there was an area we visited that was not a favourite.

At Amazonia there is an open area that is intended to feel like the rain forest. As soon as we walked in there was a small monkey sitting in the tree - a few feet away from us. By the way - at this point there are no cages so he was actually a few feet away from us. We headed to see the big cats where the male lion and tiger were apparently trying to see who had the louder roar. In the Think Tank while everyone was watching the orangutan that was sitting high on a rope very few noticed the one that was hiding flat under a sheet in the corner.

We had a great 3 hours and a great afternoon overall. I am looking forward to see what Sam wants to do on her Daddy-Daughter day

An Extra Photo

Laura took this one the day after our Anniversary and sent it to me with the title "Our Anniversary Table"

It does a lot of justice to the colours that she has brought into our house.

Our First Anniversary Weekend

I know this is a bit late .. but it has also been something that I have been writing while waiting to get the right pictures to include .... not an excuse but anyway ..... the reason we are here .....

So this was not just an anniversary weekend as Laura started making sure I knew she thought about me by bringing me home some beautiful roses the week before. So that was a good indication that the house would quickly fill with flowers - Roses mid-week, tulips on Saturday (as we all know that Laura loves tulips) and Monday I made sure I had a nice bouquet of Cala Lilies. So as you look at our dining room table, even today there are four very full vases.

Of course flowers were just a part of things. We both wanted to make sure that we spent the weekend remembering the events a year ago last Monday. I will readily admit that there were lots of things that just flew by so walking back in some of the places that we spent time at in October of 2010 was a nice way to bring back some beautiful memories. Well it turns out that my wonderful wife also had moments that she could not recall - I think she used the phrase "wedding coma" at one point.

Saturday I treated Laura to a nice lunch at Hunters Head Tavern. Kaye will remember the quaint patio out back in this little pub in horse country. We have always liked it and this Saturday was perfect for it. Not too warm but warm enough that we could sit outside and enjoy the air. A wonderful afternoon was followed with a nice steak dinner.

Sunday we spent with the girls and Sammy needed to do some shopping. She was only too enthusiastic when Laura said she would take her to Victoria's Secret to do some shopping. Dad was relegated to waiting outside but was able to help her find some Jeans afterwards - so yes Dad can contribute things other than a credit card. :-)

Monday was the special day. We both had the day off and Laura had a few places she wanted to see. But before we kicked off the day I gave Laura a book I had made with pictures from our first year. The tears were a good indication that she appreciated it and the laughter a great indication that I have no future in editing.

Meanwhile Laura surprised me with another beautiful painting from the other Laura, Laura Edwards. Laura Edwards was an artist we had met some time ago at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria. For a wedding gift my Laura had gotten me one of her paintings but the matched piece had eluded her. Never to be deterred Laura had painter Laura come out to the house and take a bunch of picture of our original and she had her paint another partner for it. I have yet to hang it but when I do I will make sure to let everyone see how well these two paintings go together.

Well need less to say we had a great day - a trip to DC to see a Warhol exhibit and some wonderful tapestries - a drive out to Morven Park to see where we were married and a stop at Vintage 50 for a quick drink. Then a dinner of pan seared duck breast and a wonderful bottle of Oregon Pinot topped off with Laura eating the majority of the wedding cake that we had saved just for this night.

It truly was a wonderful weekend. I am so grateful to have Laura in my life. I hope I will get to tell you all about the many more anniversary weekends we will have.

Thank you Sweetheart for all you do for me - I love you.

Happy Birthday Mom

So it is a little bit odd that my last two posts have been birthday wishes for my parents. Well part of that is that their birthdays are 8 days apart. Yes there is another big day in between and yes there will be a post on it but I needed to get some things together to do that. But that not withstanding ... this post is not about this ... this post is for Mom.

So today Mom starts another decade. I will not say which, largely because I am sure she would have me hunted down, but also because everyone I know, when I tell them which decade it is they do not believe me. They have always said how much younger my Mom looks. I guess I never thought of it ... she has always been Mom. But when I sit back and think about it Mom really looks the same as I have always seen her. She makes me happy when I see her. She makes me smile when she calls or when I call her. If it was not for her Laura would probably be eating a lot worse because it was Mom, whether she knows it or not, who taught me to cook. For those things, and many more, I will always be grateful.

So today, I know I am far away on such a special birthday, I want you to have a relaxing day but one that brings you much fun and entertainment.

We love you Mom.

Gary & Laura

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I never stopped to think of it until now but a few years ago I passed the point where my Dad was always better than twice as old as I am. As Costello would say - "I guess that means I am catching up".

Seriously though I wanted to wish my Dad a VERY HAPPY Birthday! We all love you dearly and hope you have a great day!

Love Gary, Laura and the girls

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!